The past is present in Sea Cliff Victorians

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Sunday was a day to welcome outsiders to Sea Cliff. It was time for the Sea Cliff Landmarks Association House Tour, a popular event that is not offered annually, perhaps due to the extensive planning that surely must be involved.

After picking up a map and a brochure, visitors embarked on a tour of six Victorian homes in the village.

“This showcases one of the things Sea Cliff is most famous for — a number of Victorian homes,” said Bruce Kennedy, a former mayor who is now the village administrator. Sea Cliff has the most Victorian homes in New York State, he added.

But the self-guided tour, an adventure of sorts that began with long walks up hilly, tree-lined streets in search of the homes, offered even more. “This gives people an opportunity to get to know our community,” said Kennedy as he gazed down Sea Cliff Avenue, which had more foot traffic than usual for a Sunday. “This is all done by volunteers, and it doesn’t cost the city anything.”

The volunteers could be found at all of the homes on the tour. They welcomed guests and acted as docents.

Inside Iris Targoff’s Queen Anne Victorian home on 8th Avenue, many visitors stopped to admire a chandelier crafted from Murano glass. Two elderly couples, Russian aristocrats, once lived in the home, which was built in 1893. Targoff has been working hard for seven years to create the home of her dreams.

“The homes are all individual and have so much character,” said Claudia Winant, admiring the easel on which a television screen rested in a bedroom.

The Tree House, on Prospect Avenue, was purchased by Peter and Rebecca Goodman after they had seen more than 40 homes. Perhaps it was the covered porch that adjoins the bedroom that cinched the sale. The Goodmans added a hammock to the porch. “I would live in this room,” said Gail Tanney, from Bayside. “I’d be reading and sleeping on that hammock.”

Karen Lowenthal, who enjoys walking in Sea Cliff and her hometown, Glen Cove, said she never knew about the house tour. “I’ve wanted to see the homes for years,” she said. “I’m so glad they do this. I think it’s well organized.”

The Landmarks Association is dedicated to educating the public about the unique architectural heritage in Sea Cliff, which was once a Methodist campground. In the 1800s, people lived in tents atop the village’s hills in a grid of lots that were small, amid narrow streets. That’s why it’s hard to drive around the village. The roads were never meant for cars. Walking up and down the winding roads to see the Victorian homes made that abundantly clear. It soon became apparent that this part of the tour lent itself to one of the secrets of Sea Cliff — it’s easy to get lost here. Perhaps that’s why everyone got a map.